Gay bar attacker dies after shootout

Pam Belluck, New York Times

Published 4:00 am, Monday, February 6, 2006

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This photo released by the New Bedford, Mass. Police Department shows suspect Jacob D. Robida, 18, of New Bedford who police say attacked patrons of a gay bar early Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006, with a handgun and a hatchet, wounding at least three people. (AP Photo/New Bedford Police Department) less

This photo released by the New Bedford, Mass. Police Department shows suspect Jacob D. Robida, 18, of New Bedford who police say attacked patrons of a gay bar early Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006, with a handgun and a ... more

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This photo undated photo released by the Gassville Police Department, shows police officer James Sell. According to the Gassville police, Sell, 63, was shot and killed Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006, by Jacob D. Robida, 18, who is suspected of a hatchet-and-gun attack in a New Bedford, Mass., gay bar. Robida later died in a Springfield, Mo., hospital from wounds sustained in a shootout with police. (AP Photo/Gassville Police Department) HANDOUT PHOTO BY GASSVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT, FEB. 5, 2006 PHOTO less

This photo undated photo released by the Gassville Police Department, shows police officer James Sell. According to the Gassville police, Sell, 63, was shot and killed Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006, by Jacob D. ... more

Photo: GASSVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT

Gay bar attacker dies after shootout

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2006-02-06 04:00:00 PDT Boston -- A teenager who attacked patrons of a gay bar in Massachusetts with a hatchet and a handgun last week died Sunday of wounds suffered during the weekend in a shootout with Arkansas police officers.

The police say that the teenager, Jacob D. Robida, 18, shot and killed a lone police officer during a traffic stop on Saturday before the shootout a short time later with other officers. Police officials also believe that Robida killed a 33-year-old woman from West Virginia, apparently an acquaintance whom he had picked up at her home after the attacks in Massachusetts.

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As of late Sunday, authorities were still trying to piece together the details of Robida's final days as he tried to evade a nationwide manhunt and to escape arrest in the gay bar attacks.

"There's a criminal investigation that is still very much ongoing," Bill Sadler, a spokesman for the Arkansas State Police, said Sunday. "Witness statements are still being taken, evidence being collected; law enforcement officers in at least two other states are assisting in this investigation."

Early Thursday morning, Robida, a high school dropout from New Bedford, Mass., walked into Puzzles Lounge in that town, ordered a drink and asked the bartender if Puzzles was a gay bar, New Bedford police said. When told that it was a gay bar, Robida reportedly attacked two men playing pool and another man leaving the restroom.

New Bedford police said that Robida struck a bar patron in the head with a hatchet and a second patron when he tried to come to the aid of the first victim. The third victim was shot. Robida fled, leaving behind the hatchet and a machete he had not used.

The police, who said Robida had once attended a police academy for troubled 12- to 14-year-olds, found neo-Nazi symbols and anti-Semitic and racist writings in Robida's room at his home.

At about 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Robida was stopped for a traffic violation by Officer Jim Sell in Gassville, an Ozark Mountain town in north central Arkansas near the Missouri state line. Robida shot Sell, 56, with a 9mm handgun while the officer was inspecting his driver's license, investigators said.

Sadler said Robida and Bailey sped off in the car, and police officers in nearby towns tried several times to stop them by firing at them and trying to block the road with their cars. Finally, state police officers set out spike strips on the road, which succeeded in puncturing two of Robida's tires. He drove into the town of Norfork, losing control of his car and crashing into two parked cars.

Sadler said state police officers at the scene believe they saw Robida shoot Bailey in the head, and they believe she died instantly. Robida then fired at the police officers, who returned fire, striking Robida twice in the head, Sadler said. Robida was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Springfield, Mo., where officials said he died early Sunday.

At Puzzles Lounge, New Bedford's mayor, Scott Lang, paid a visit on Saturday night to tell patrons that Robida had been caught in Arkansas and was in the hospital. Several patrons expressed relief, mixed with regret that others had been killed by Robida. The patrons included Robert Perry, one of Robida's victims, who showed up at the bar after his release from the hospital, with a black eye, a 5-inch gash on his face and a bullet hole in his back, according to the Associated Press.

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